Gate to the Sky
by My Vantilene
Summary: Kairi, the beloved princess and heir to the throne, has always wanted to be a celestial mage. When she gets her first key, she doesn't realize that the spirit, like her father and bethrothed, has a few secrets of his own.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Fairy Tail, because if I did Natsu and Axel would be eating fire together as Juvia and I stalked.

Quick AN: All KH characters are based off of their KHII appearances and/or attires, because, admit it, in KHI they all looked like nine-year-olds.

Chapter I: Gifts and Ultimatums

Kairi stood on the edge of the decorative, frost-white balcony, staring out at the night sky. Looking out of her clear cerulean eyes and through her syrupy-dark-crimson bangs, she could see the stunning scenery. She was wearing her favorite light pink gown that floated all the way down to her ankles and had a water-like appearance to it. It came with a scarf that wrapped around her arms loosely and drifted across her elbows as the sea-breeze picked up. The stars were blazing in their own individual spots, causing constellations to become even more apparent in the warm summer night. She recognized all of them and the story behind each. The moon reflected the sun from the other side of the world with such clarity, it seemed as if the sun was just replaced with a paler star in its place. Her eyes traced tiny patterns in the way the scene below her rippled, verifying that the beach still was there, even in the dark. The soothing oceanic noises took a different key as she began to sing a soft, sweet melody, her high soprano voice reaching such a high aptitude, not even the bells of the clock tower a half mile away could match,

"What is the point

Of unused potential if it's locked away in hiding

Insecurity

Is a barbarous thorn down the path meant for riding

Did

They lose their touch

Just

So we could learn to trust

They

Died in vain

If forgotten

The potential will remain

If locked

With the key thrown away

Is how

This precious gift was meant to stay

Then I fear

For tomorrow and the future generations

Waiting for

Their elders to show the demonstrations

Of what

Pure life is supposed to be

It's a broken world

And healing won't be easy." When she opened her eyes, she could see a shadow blocking the lights from the party inside, cutting down the balcony's pegs that kept her from falling off.

"You have a beautiful voice, did you write that song yourself?" inquired a voice that presumably belonged to the intruding shadow.

"I know you hate it," she sighed, "And that's okay, Saix, you're a royal adviser. Your job is to help enforce rules that stop people from singing songs like that. But since I'm the princess I get a free pass, right?" she laughed at the irony, "Is our government really that shallow?"

"Now, Miss Kairi, I came here bearing gifts, not to answer all of our monarchy decision making."

"What did father bring to shut me up this time?" she scoffed, turning around to face him, the golden light from behind the door flowed in and streamed across her face. With the beautiful night scenery at her back as she walked closer to the warmth of the castle made her regret every single step. He knelt down on his knees and presented her a box, with an intricate sun branded onto the golden-plated surface. She picked it up and opened the strange packaging delicately. Inside was navy cloth, woven with gold and white thread on the ends. Once she got through the ostentatious tissue paper, there was a gold key, with a sapphire hanging off the handle.

"This– this– it's..."

"A celestial-mage key. Your father, King Luxord, isn't all stones and ice, underneath it all, he's got a heart of gold. He's been paying attention, far more than you think. He said it was to be a fitting gift for your sixteenth birthday."

"This is my first one." she marveled, looking it over and swiping it through the air as if using it as a weapon, "Tell him, I love it!" Saix turned to go, but he called over his shoulder before he left,

"He said to only use it like a maid, not for combat."

"Of course," she nodded, "What reason would I have for fighting with it?"

"I don't know. His orders." He once again turned to go, but once again he couldn't leave. Kairi, a girl he'd known ever since she was born, a princess, was here alone, on her birthday. It broke his icy heart.

"Oh, and Kairi?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"You should come inside. You might find you like it, plus some princes from other kingdoms are here. It'd be a good time to find out who you'd like to be betrothed to, rather than having your father pick."

"It's okay," with a wave of her hand, she dismissed the suggestion, "I'm fine here."

"Well, okay…"

She waited patiently for him to leave, like the princess she wasn't, then right after she pulled out the key and examined it some more. There was something engraved into it,

"Gate to the Sky." she whispered to herself. She loved the taste of the name in her mouth. Swinging the key around, she yelled (on mute, in fear of being heard),

"Gate to the Sky, I open thee!" Unfortunately, she didn't know swinging the key around was what summoned the spirit. There was a swirl of different arrays of blue, white, and gold streaming past her at such a speed, she thought she was in the middle of a twister. There was a strange door bell noise. Suddenly, there was a figure hazily in front of her. The figure began to materialize.

"Sora, Gate to the Sky." The brown-haired spirit announced.

"Oh my gosh!" she was taken aback, "You're a spirit!" Sora nodded solemnly.

"So you, like…_live_ in some sort of spirit world?"

"I guess you could say that." he smiled.

"Cool!"

"I guess you could say that too," he laughed a little at the end of his sentence, but his face hardened and he stuck his body in an at-attention type position, "How can I help, you Mam?"

"I…I…" she realized she had no purpose for conjuring a spirit to the human world, "I'd like to ask you some questions." Sora sighed inwardly. From what he'd been through, a few questions was paradise to him. But that was on the inside, on the outside he kept that gruff, G.I. Joe look on his face, hoping to appear loyal, but in actuality, scaring Kairi.

"What's this spirit-world like?"

"It's pretty, but I don't spend a lot of time there. I'm mostly out here, helping whenever I can."

"So how many people have owned this key before me?" she flashed the golden key at him. He winced, as if it was too bright. But really, it was because the key was the memory of when he first–

"Sora? Hello?"

"What? Huh?"

"The question…?"

"Oh, right. Maybe six or seven, probably more in the future. I'm just glad it wasn't Terra who still had this key."

"Who's Terra?"

"My last owner, it didn't go over too well with him. I hope Aqua and Ven are okay…"

"Aqua and Ven?" Inwardly, he face-palmed himself for letting his guard down.

"They were two keys that also belonged to Terra, The Gate to the Sea and The Gate to Daybreak," he cringed and closed his eyes, "Before I was sold, Terra said if Ven screwed up one more time, he would whip him until his form gave out, then he would burn his key which would evidently kill him. For good."

_AN:_

_Yeah, as I'm sure you've gathered, I'm making Terra a douche bag for this fic. Sorry, Terra, but the Terranort is stronger. And, yes, I know, it's probably not smart to be making two fan-fics at the same time, but oh well. There will be some serious action in the next one, I promise. It starts with a bang! Don't you love how I just managed to not say what memory it brought back, seeing the key? Oh, it's terrible and gruesome…I'm going to have a blast writing it. It has something to do with Roxas, I'll give you that…_

_Ying – Yang, Light – Darkness, Reviews – Updates, it all goes hand-in-hand. Ying and Yang can't exist with out each other, Light beckons Darkness, and let's just say Reviews and Updates are best friends. _


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No ownership, whatsoever.

Chapter II: The Benefits of a Key

The inky-black, rubber handle felt nice and secure in his finger-less-gloved hand, like it was supposed to be there, like he was born with it there. The whip in its rightful place– in his possession and at his side– he could feel the power running through him. His grip tightened and his jaw clenched as he tried to keep from screaming, like he felt he so rightfully should,

"Ventus, Ventus, Ventus…" he smacked his lips together, "Tsk, tsk, tsk." His cool and collected face melted down as he yelled,

"You idiot!" the first crack hit his bare back and left a red welt, as if to mark its territory.

"You weak, spineless, little– UGH! Why do you always fail when I need you the most?" The blood-curdling crack of the whip could be heard from the other room, where Aqua was wincing in silence as her dear friend and comrade was being punished for something he couldn't help.

Ventus was a kind and innocent-like soul, but his potential was far more than even Terra could imagine. He was the prophecy spirit, the special one, the one with more power than any spirit or human has ever witnessed because he was made in the image of their greatest king from birth. But, in truth, he was a little spineless. Terra would have traded the key off right away once he realized it couldn't fight very well. But this was no ordinary key and once its true potential is reached, Terra will be unstoppable. So he whipped harder, hoping it would do some good. Aqua just cringed for him. He was too gentle and fragile a spirit to be treated so harshly. But Ventus was used to the talking-down-to and the whippings and he always thought it was Terra's right, that this was what life was supposed to be and there wasn't anything better. It told him his worth was absolutely nothing. And, unfortunately, he believed it.

"I'm sorry." he murmured, tears and blood streaming down his face. He thought he deserved it. Terra had summoned him during a battle against a Dark Side and before Ventus could even breathe the human world's air, the Dark Side knocked him to the dirt and he was too weak to get back up. The Dark Side then proceeded with the battle and nearly defeated Terra. So he was pissed.

"Oh– what's that I hear? He says he's sorry. Pfft, like that'll make any difference you coward! I bet you couldn't even kill a spider if you wanted to!" the whip came down on him again and the cackles of Terra were drowned out over the pain that rang out.

"Stop talking to him like that!" Aqua, finally building up the courage, yelled.

"You'd rather take his place?"

"Yes." she solemnly nodded. Terra, a malicious smile stricken across his face, walked towards her with his whip.

"No!" Ventus cried, still bending down to the ground as if he were bowing.

"But, Ven I–"

"It's okay, Aqua." he smiled back at her through the tears, dirt, and blood, "It's my punishment, not yours. Terra, leave her out of this."

"Fine by me." he told Ventus, but he was staring at Aqua all the while, his smile making her feel guilty. He turned around and began to whip him. Aqua watched in horror as the younger spirit's wounds almost reached his bones. She turned away, unable to bear to look. The sweetest guy she knew was being man-handled by that monster and she couldn't even do anything to stop it. Ventus's self-esteem was pretty low to begin with and Terra's beatings didn't help.

"Alright, I'm done." satisfied with the amount of blood shed, he stalked away, leaving a bloody mess and a heaving Ventus piled upon the floor. Aqua ran to his side and slid her hands to his face, to make sure he was okay.

"I'm so sorry, Ven. You shouldn't have to go through that, it's terrible."

"It's alright." he tried to give her a convincing I'm-okay-smile, but since he was now missing a few teeth, the smile only made her shutter more.

"Why do you worry about me so much, Aqua?" She was about to laugh at such a ridiculous question, but saw the seriousness in his eyes and decided to bite her tongue and answer without mocking him,

"Ven, you're my best friend, of course I worry about you, what other choice do I have?"

"But you're so nice and sweet…and you fight really well. And I– well, I'm practically worthless, plus you have Vanitas. If you only told him where you are he'd come and save you from this nightmare."

"But then I wouldn't get to see you again. And you're not worthless to me."

"You can always see me in the spirit world."

"I can always see Vanitas there too. Besides, who else is going to stitch you up after all of these whippings?"

"I still don't get why you stay," he shook his head, then smiled, "but I'm glad."

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

Smiling to himself, Sora scrubbed Kairi's bathroom floor. Kairi didn't get why he was so happy to be doing chores, but she enjoyed his company. Her life was the typical story of a princess with everything but the one thing she wanted; companionship. The only people she had ever seen were her teacher and father's royal adviser, Sir Saix, her father, King Luxord, and Merry Weather who was her seamstress, nanny, cook, and former maid. But now she had Sora, someone she actually enjoyed being around. The normal day routine was Kairi asking a question about spirits, Sora answering then asking a question of his own, then it was her turn to answer and the cycle started all over again. This pattern was hardly ever broken, except for meals and when Sir Saix came in to teach another lesson. She hated her lessons, but Sora found them quite informative. All he knew about the human world was what Terra had shown him and from what she could tell, it was not very positive things. There, however, was one flaw with their systematic conversations; there was evidently going to be a question that offended one of them or brought back terrifying memories.

"So you all have rooms and the spirit world is like one giant apartment complex?"

"I'm still a little fuzzy on what that means, but yes, for the most part." He swallowed in concentration, thinking of which question he wanted to use for his turn, "Do you have any relatives or ancestors that were celestial mages?"

"No. Why you ask?"

"Well, if you're sure that's what you want to be your question…I asked because normally people can only keep a spirit here for maybe a day or two, if they're really strong, but you've kept me here for a whole week and you seem to be still going without any sign of stopping. I was just wondering if it was because of your blood, but I guess that's not the case. That truly is amazing…do you feel your magic going out?" he inquired, sloshing the soapy scrubber around the floor.

"Not really. Alright, my turn. Do you want to go down to the beach with me before Saix gets back to give me my next lesson?"

"Sure." he replied quickly as he dumped the scrubber back into the water bucket, "But we'll have to be quick, won't we?"

"Good question." she smiled, her eyes on the door. In a second, they were both off.

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

After hours of hanging out and doing miscellaneous activities on the beach, they had a sand castle, 93 seashells, plus a large conch-shell, and had buried each other in sand twice. They were now enjoying some ice cream from a shore-side ice cream vendor after an hour of body-surfing.

"Heeeeeere ya go," he exclaimed, handing her the ice cream bar, "one Sea Salt Ice Cream."

"Thanks." she laughed, taking her first lick as they strolled down the board-walk. It was around 6:00 and twilight was setting in. For some on reason as they were talking and laughing all the way back to their spot on the beach, Kairi kept her gaze down to the sand with a frigid straight line taking the place of her brilliant smile.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, stopping in his path to look at her.

"Nothing," but her gaze still wasn't on him.

"Come one Kairi, you're really bad at lying."

"Fine," she sighed, giving in as she continued to walk, "it's that guy my father is having me marry. I've never met him before and I'm scared he's going to be like how you describe Terra." They approached their spot and sat down on the towels, both still liking the bipolar-flavored ice cream.

"Don't worry about it, Terra's no prince so your chances of getting him or anyone like him are pretty slim. What kingdom is he from?"

"Kingdom Hearts." Sora nearly choked up his ice cream.

"What?"

"Ugh…nothing."

"Come on, Sora, _you're_ really bad at lying too."

But Sora wasn't going to give in as easily as Kairi; this wasn't about his "_feelings_" this was about something far bigger than that. So instead of saying anything in response, which he knew if he opened his mouth the truth would come flowing out like a sewage flap, he glared at her. She glared back hoping to match his. His ceruleans bored into her, making them burn as she didn't even think to blink. But then the thought sparred at the back of her mind. She had done staring contests with Merry Weather a lot and had always won. But this certainly wasn't Merry Weather and he certainly wasn't giving in anytime soon. This came as a shock to Kairi; all she had to do was stare at someone and she was given whatever she wanted. But now Sora, her own key, her own servant, was defying her. And that's the real reason she kept up the staring contest for as long as she did, to prove she was tougher than some bell-ringer and had more pose and authority than him. I wasn't about what Sora was hiding anymore for her. But for Sora it was, so he kept right on glaring at her, daring her to look away. She eventually did.

"Wha– how?" she was a little bewildered at first, internally slapping herself for being easily manipulated.

"Don't take it personally." he laughed, handing her the conch shell, "Here, you get to keep it." She took it from his hand and placed it in her lap. She knew in her heart it was the only gift she'd ever received that had good intentions behind it. Well, the only gift except her Gate to the Sky.

_AN:_

_So-Kai fluff and Terra angst, wasn't this a good filler? You know how I said this chapter would start with a bang? I meant whipping, sorry, but you know I love Ven. And yes, it may seem impossible, but I did it. I made Vanitas good. You have every right to be upset…for now, but I promise he'll still be– you know, Vanitas. And yup, I have Van-Aqua plans. Hehe, aren't I terrible?...or brilliant? Let me know with a review._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own KH or FT

Chapter III: Stories

"Hey, Aqua." Vanitas hugged her from behind.

"Hey." she greeted back, flatly.

"What's wrong?" he inquired, coming up on her shoulder and turning to the spirit-filled sky that rested above the balcony.

"It's Ven. I have to do something about Terra soon or he might–"

"You're scared of it, aren't you?" Aqua would've thought he was teasing her if she hadn't seen the question burned on to his blazing eyes.

"Scared of what?"

"You know, what Ven really is, what he'll have the power to do one day, you're scared that maybe because of Terra's anger, Ven's going to end up not like himself some how."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" She playfully socked him in the arm,

"Always know what I'm thinking."

"It's a gift I have." he smiled, leaning in closer and whispering down her neck, "For the people I love." The way his breath made it to her neck, it sent chills up her spine. Did he really just say he loved her? Only one way to find out…

She slid her hands to the back of her neck and pushed her neck out so that her lips would a line with his. And lucky for her, he pushed his neck towards her too.

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

"Hey, Sora?" Kairi called from her bed to Sora, who was in her mini-kitchen washing pots and pans. Her room was much like an apartment, her own mini-house which she didn't enjoy leaving at all. The castle she lived in was grand and enormous, intricate detail splashed across the walls and dripped to the floor from the ceiling. It made her sick.

"Yes, Kairi?" he ran to her room.

"I know this is a pretty lame request…but…"

"It's okay, I'll do it. Just tell me what it is?" She clamped her eyes closed and gulped,

"Would you…tell me…a story…?" she asked, timidly. She opened her eyes to see his facial expression. Smiling like always.

"Sure, Kairi, what about?"

"I was hoping…you would make one up…?"

"Of course, let's see…Oh! I got one!" He turned to her and began, "Once upon a time, in a galaxy far away, there were two twins that belonged to a royal family. The twins weren't exactly identical, in looks or in personality, but they got along just fine. Actually, a little more than fine, since they were basically best friends. One day, their mother, the queen, grew very ill and she told one of the twins, the one that was older by a few seconds, that with her death some of her family would have to make some sacrifices to save other people's lives, because their mother and the moon and sun were all connected and if she died there would be some effect on both of them. The slightly older son accepted this and went to go tell his father and his brother. After some research the father came to a conclusion that someone of her bloodline had to make the sacrifice or it wouldn't do anything, which crossed out the plan of sacrificing a commoner over his sons. The mother requested that it be both of them, so when she died she could meet her sons again and the daughter that was soon to be arriving, sooner than she was to die, was to be given to the father as an heir to the thrown and someone to keep him company. She blessed the baby girl once she was born and sent her off with her father. Once it was time to make the sacrifice, the older son asked his father one more time if it was necessary for both of them to be sacrificed. He said it only took one, but since it was his mother's final request, he had no reason to argue. But the son did. His brother went up first to be sacrificed and once it was his turn, he fled.

"Of course several days later, he returned back to his father's palace and his father welcomed him with open arms. He was confused with this at first but he soon saw why. The baby girl had died from the sickness her mother died of. He was devastated, at first. But after a time he realized it was better that she was with her mother, since his mother wanted another one of her offspring with her.

"He grew cold over the years, and wicked, harsh to everyone he came in contact with, but he was still a spoiled prince. And, whether he realized it or not, the spirit of his lost brother he had once cared about so much, only to throw him away so he wouldn't have to die, still lurked in the castle watching over him. Until one day, the brother's spirit was– well, maybe I'll tell that to you another time. It's getting late." He got up from leaning over her bed and walked off to the kitchen to finish his job. She called his name one last time to say goodnight, but when he turned around, instead of seeing his face that was always smiling with those blue hazy eyes of his, she saw a sober, tired Sora, with regret etched into his sharp, keen eyes that stared at her like a hawk, saying "Go ahead, I dare you. Say something pleasant like goodnight and see what happens."

"Thank you. For everything. G-g-goodnight."

"Goodnight." he spat, trying to sound sincere, but the words rubbing his tongue the wrong way, causing the sarcasm to come out, one ugly syllable at a time, like he was trying to sound polite, but the anger he had just up and flared off his lips, burning Kairi. Immediately after, he cringed,

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to–" he turned around to look at her sympathetically, but saw the tears welling at the base of her eyes. A sad smile played on her lips,

"It's okay. I get a little emotional when I'm telling stories too." He beat himself up inwardly; Kairi was a gentle soul and he should've been far more careful.

"Yeah," he nodded, heading for the kitchen, "Telling stories."

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

Tifa stood, back against the wall, arms crossed, and one leg resting aloofly on part of the brick.

"You said last time you would beat him till he died last time he slipped up." She smiled at Terra. She knew he was hiding something. She wanted that key because she needed a non-combatant key for show she was putting on at the circus her boyfriend ran.

"I did. But he's still alive and he's still mine."

"Vincent would be highly disappointed if you didn't cooperate." she soothed nonchalantly, strapping her fingerless glove around her wrist.

"Do you want to fight me?" he gripped the collar of her shirt and pushed her face close to his.

"I'm trying _not_ to," she basically spat "not" at him as if it was some greasy, disgusting thing on her tongue, "but the offer sounds tempting." He let go and she dropped to the floor again. Her tone changed to more of a casual-business-type,

"Look if you don't want to sell the key to me, that's fine. I'm a reasonable girl, but I need something good for next weeks show. And if Vincent and I were to come and collect and you didn't have anything. Well, that's just no good." With that she smirked, and stalked off down the dark alleyway, were blood and rain alike littered the streets and poured out into the city's levies.

_AN:_

_OMSG, so sorry about this chapter being short and the wait being to long. I'm one of those authors who have to have an update every 2-3 days (which, believe it or not, I have been doing but I'm also working on Election Day) but because of Volleyball tryouts I've been missing a lot. Also, I had detention. Which sucks. And they just put up the list of who made it and who didn't, but I'm too lazy to check, so I'll go look in the morning. I hope you guys like the Van-Aqua. I sure did. :P And sorry if the foreshadowing is screaming I'M HERE! I'M HERE! Next update will be on like Saturday. I won't update on the 12__th__ or 13__th__ cause I'm going to Momocon. Woo-hoo!_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Sad face.

Chapter IV: Gingerbread Man

Pressing her lips together, she examined the profile one more time. She sat up and called Sora's name, her eyes clouded in confusion. But as she read the letter attached to the profile what was once hazy confusion turned to crystal-clear disappointment.

"Yes, Miss Kairi?"

"Do you mind making me some tea?" she rubbed her temples and her eyebrows pushed together. Her voice was annoyed, and she really wanted to tell Sora why. But ever since last night, he'd been acting strange. Not strange exactly, but distant, spacey, like his body was there, but his spirit wasn't. Which was weird, because he was a spirit.

Absentmindedly, he obeyed her request and began to assemble the ingredients necessary. She sighed and let the picture fall to her lap, the hard cerulean eyes piercing back at her from the paper. You could tell for the picture he tried to smile, but it came out just a mesh of his lips and laugh lines that just were not there. The blonde spikes of his hair reminded her of the waves of the beach during a storm and she didn't like the queasiness in her stomach when she stared at him. Yet this was the man her father had chosen her to marry.

"Here you are." He held the tray for her. As she reached for the first delicate, green cup, all of the papers in her lap, including the profile of her betrothed, poured out onto the floor. Sora's eyes glanced over the profile and they turned icy, like the man in the photo's. He dropped the tea tray, letting all the silverware clatter to the floor and all the tea to slosh around at his feet. After a split-second of standing still in shock, he ran.

As fast as he could.

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

Vanitas stood in the hazy doorway, causing a shadow to flicker into the grey room.

"Is he okay?" he asked, gesturing to the shaking figure of Ventus underneath a full bed of blankets.

"He still has a fever." She put a moist towel over his beading forehead, "It's getting worse." He kneeled next to the bed and placed his hand on his chest. Whispering strange words, there was a blue glow, then nothing.

"Do you feel any better?"

"Ugh…" he rolled over to look at both of them, "It still feels like someone's grinding my insides together." Vanitas looked worriedly over at Aqua, like a man looks to his wife when his child is sick.

"What if Terra summons him?"

"We can't let that happen."

"How? Terra can call him whenever he wants."

"We have to steal his key."

"Aqua, that's against the rules."

"I know," her smile had a bittersweet glow to it, "I know."

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

The air whipped through his hair as if he was underwater. His legs hurt and his lungs burned, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't even turn around because he knew if he did there would only be more confusion. He had to keep going. It was a stupid and ignorant choice, but it was all he could come up. He knew Kairi had his key, so at any time she could summon him back and he would have to come back. She had a strong magical power, being able to keep him breathing for as long as she did, so it wouldn't strain her to keep him on the face of the human world just a tad longer. Or so he convinced himself. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her…

…physically.

So he ran until the sun slipped through the trees, for then he had to build a fire.

He had found a couple sticks in the forest surrounding the clearing he had ran into that he used to start the fire. As it raged on inside the ditch he had found, the glowing embers floated up with the thick smoke. He made sure to sit on the opposite side they were floating so he wouldn't be burned. But, unfortunately, some people aren't that smart.

"Ow!" a girlish squeal came from his left.

He looked through the foggy smoke to see two ceruleans staring back at him.

"Kairi? You followed me?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but the key did it. I was holding it after you left and the next thing I know, I'm here. I'll leave now…" she turned to leave, but he caught her arm.

"Stay." he moved his grip from her arm to her hand, "Please."

"As long as you tell me why you ran."

"Fine." he pointed to the patch of grass next to him, "You might want to take a seat." She sat and he began to explain,

"The man in the picture you had…and that story I told you the other night? The story was true. I was the sacrificed brother. But because it wasn't my mother's request, I was turned into a spirit. The man in the picture was my brother and I'm the only proof he's supposed to be dead, so if I'm not dead, he'll want it that way. I saw that you two were betrothed and I just knew I had to run."

"Oh, Sora…" she covered his hand with hers, "I'm sorry; I had no idea. That must be terrible…"

"Yeah, I was human once, but now I am the Gate to the Sky, holding up both the sun and moon for my mother's sake. And for the rest of the world's."

"That's brave of you." she put her head on his shoulder. His spirit-skin went from white to red.

"Hah, no one else seems to think so."

"So what? You're a hero to me." She leaned in and kissed him.

_AN:_

_Yet another shorty, sorry. I know I said Saturday, but then again I also said I read all Terms and Policies, and checked the box I Agree when making my fanfiction account. So really my account is based on lies. Whaddya gonna do? You know you love the fluff! Well, too bad cause in the next chapter, we'll run into some…_problems_. This whole chapter I was banging my head against the wall because of what Dani did to Ventus. Oh, wow. But 51 chapters is a friggin' lot! I target all my stories to around 13 chapters if I can. I just love the number 13. And though you probably already know who Sora's brother is, anyone want to take a crack at his sister?_

_Now that I look back I realize that "anyone want to take a crack at his sister?" was probably not the best word choice._

_**REVIEW, you perverts! :D**_

_**Or else…**_


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: you flatter me, , with your accusations of me owning KH and Fairy Tail, but I don't really.

Chapter V: Wounds That Might Heal

The grey fog caressed the ground and the two graveyard visitors. The dark night approached the sky, trying to take control of its azure complexion. The wind picked up subtly and while the rest of the people thronging around other gravesites were growing rather lethargic and dreary, Kairi and Sora were both feeling mixes of stronger emotions. Kairi was afraid, of their surroundings, of the way the owl perched on the oak looked at her, of her father finding her out, and of the overall impression she had about what she was doing. Sora was mournful, reading the epitaph over several times before accepting it was his sister that rested a few feet under the ground. His fingers lingered on the indentions that could only be the byproducts of something written in stone.

Written in stone. That made it official. She was dead, in complete actuality.

"She had blonde hair, like my brother and father," Sora began brusquely, cutting through the silence that encased Kairi's ears, the sound of his voice making her a little less afraid, "But her eyes were dark, unlike anyone else from my family. Lucy had the most amazing laugh, even if she was a baby when I knew her, her voice still sounded blissful, like the chirping of birds." He glanced at the red rose in his hand and with a brush of his hand, it changed to blue. He placed it at the base of the grievous stone, where it met the sallow grass. He looked up to the sky and closed his eyes, breathing in the air as if it was as sweet and as savory as cake.

"I'm done," he sighed, "If you want to come with me, we have to leave now. I risked enough time here as it is." He stuffed his hands into his crimson stomach-pocket and began walking away hastily. After a minuscule trip, Kairi sped up to catch up with him,

"Where are we going?" she inquired. There was a pause and the only sounds that could be heard were the whispers of the wind and the crunch of the leaves beneath his flamboyant shoes, and of course the muffled sobs of the other mourners.

"Do you trust me?" he finally asked, never averting his gaze towards her, just looking at the road ahead and focusing on what came next.

"Of course." she replied.

"Then you wouldn't mind me telling you it's better that you don't know. They'll definitely catch you. I'm mean, someone of your beauty is sure to be recognized as the runaway princess. If they do then, well, they might question you and– um, I…" he stuttered as he took his eyes off the grass for a second and flickered his attention to the monarch to his left for a moment.

"You think I'm going to tell them where to find you? Don't you trust _me_?" it sounded more like an imperative sentence rather than an interrogative one. They reached the curve where people filed in and out of the train station and Sora gave the man operating it there tickets and boarded the train.

"I like you Kairi, maybe even love when I think really hard. But I don't trust anyone." he looked out the window of the moving vehicle and watched glumly as the front of the train ate away at the track in front of it, "I haven't for awhile."

A~*~X~*~E~*~L~*~I~*~S~*~A~*~W~*~E~*~S~*~O~*~M~*~E

"_RUN!" the throaty whisper slivered down his neck and sent an alarm going off in his head. He began to, but it was dark._

_No, not dark. It was blank. Everything was blank._

_He continued to run despite it all, despite the growing fear that knotted in his stomach and welled in his throat, making him want to scream or cry or maybe even choke with emotion, despite the people he knew he would never see again. The muscles in his legs were aching and dying to stop and his lungs were on fire as they supported the elongated run and his stifled cries for help. But he had to keep going, and for some reason, he wanted to. He wanted to run until his mortal form gave out and by default was sent back to whatever hole he had crawled out of. Running seemed like the only option, and in the midst of the terror and fear, he never felt so alive. In his chest the myocardium-thumps thrust themselves out and gutted back in, going faster than even his swift legs could take him. And during that moment of pure content with just running because it felt good despite the pain, is when he fell off the blank world. Everything was pitch-black, but his red-inflamed skin seemed fluorescently sticking out next to the dark and void world, and he knew where he ended and the darkness began. But when he fell, all he could see was the darkness. It was cooling, pressing, coursing through his own veins, causing him to feel it with in himself, trying to take control. And the numbness he felt put any frost bite to shame. And with that came somewhat ease, like the weight of the dark and shapeless world had been lifted off his shoulders. He was falling, simply falling as if it was something he did everyday, and, in a way, it felt like that, it was as if he was drifting off to sleep in the dry air that blew past him and enveloped him in a soft wind-cocoon. One in which he never wanted to leave. He closed his eyes and felt himself dissolve into it, succumb to the billowing darkness that soothed him into unconsciousness. That was, until a burst of light scorched him and when he opened his eyes again, he was somewhere different, someplace new and exotic. There was soft emerald grass and a wide azure sky that stretched on and never seemed to end, laced with white, puffy, cumulus clouds. But the most surprising thing he saw, the newest of all of these foreign concepts, was the cyan-haired maiden who shook his shoulders and brought him back with the living as she muttered another foreign term, one he had never heard before and could not even grasp its theory,_

"_Heal," there was a jaded gust of wind that ignited from the word and brought alleviation to the wounds he didn't realize were his._

"_What was that?" he asked, his lips finally finding the right syllables he seemed to have forgotten amidst the plunging darkness. _

"_It's a cure spell I know." When he gave her a funny look, she elaborated, "I healed you."_

Hmm…_he thought, _that's a first.

"Ventus!" Aqua called into the lonesome cottage, the voice of the cyan-haired maiden from his vision reverberating throughout the small building.

"Over here…" he murmured, holding up his hand in recognition of being present.

"Vanitas thinks he may have found something that'll help with your fever."

"What?"

"You have to go see Roxas."

"No way." he retorted, rolling over in his bed to face away from Aqua.

"Ven, you knew this was going to happen…" she gulped, kneeling by his bedside, "You have to go or you'll die. For real this time."

"I'd rather die."

"You don't mean that, Ven."

"You remember last time I tried to see him," he sighed, reflecting at the involuntary flashback he had just witnessed, "Aqua, you've been saving me since the day we met. But you can't save me this time; it's fate."

"Screw fate," she spat, "if you're not going to go and see him, I'll just have to bring him here to see you."

"That's against the rules!" gasped Ven.

"I've already broken one rule today getting this," she held up his key, Gate to Daybreak, "I don't mind breaking another one if it'll keep you safe."

_AN:_

_Short chapter again today. Sorry. But I know you love the gruesome detail in this one. I was going to add an actual Roxas scene, but I'm tired and I also have to work on Election Day. That's a lot for a twelve-year-old, believe it or not. My teachers have me up to my eyes in homework, so the next update may be a little delayed and, again, I'm going to Momocon, so I have to get my costume ready. I was going to go as Xion, but both pieces of my costume are coming in the mail days after Momocon, so I'm going as Marcilene from Adventure Time._


End file.
